Air Mobility: An Enabler of Mission Success

The evolution of air systems able to operate across the spectrum of warfare is a key dynamic changing the nature of warfare and security operations.

Indeed, when one considers the future of combat ships a key consideration is clearly what types of air systems can operate off of those ships. The reach and range of modern air systems allows for a significant growth in distributed operations.

Also evident is the revolution in air lift.

A400M formation flight. Credit Photo: Airbus Military

Air lifters have moved from being buses or trucks carrying materials and troops from point A to point B to becoming key elements of a networked battlespace. And with the revolution in airdropping, the entire approach to support of forces, both dispersed and on the go, has changed entirely.

And with the introduction of new multi-mission systems, such as the A330 MRTT tanker, the entire approach to what one wants a tanker to do has changed as well.

One US journalist commented during the tanker competition in the United States that the task was a simple one: to buy a flying gas can. But this comment was true, but no longer is. With a tanker which carriers fuel in its wings, an entire deck area if now free for other mission uses.

In this book published by Second Line of Defense earlier this year, the subject of air mobility is addressed in terms of the impact of helos, lifters and tankers on security and defense operations.